VIDEO: Target, diabetes drugmaker latest partners to cut Paula Deen

Jan Skutch

Wednesday

Jun 26, 2013 at 10:58 PM

Target Corp. said Thursday that it is ending its relationship with celebrity cook Paula Deen as fallout builds from revelations that the Southern celebrity chef used racial slurs in the past. Diabetes drug maker Novo Nordisk also joined the companies distancing themselves from her.

The news follows after Deen on Wednesday lost two more corporate partners, ending a day that began with her emotional apology for use of the "N" word during an appearance on the "Today" show.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced it was ending its relationship with Deen and Caesars casinos officials announced the company and Deen had "mutually decided" to drop her and close Deen-themed restaurants at four casinos.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, based in Bentonville, Ark., currently carries a variety of products under Deen's moniker, including food items, cookware and health and wellness products, at all of its 4,000 U.S. namesake stores. The retailer began selling her merchandise several years ago.

"We will not place new orders beyond those already committed," said Dave Tovar, a Wal-Mart spokesman. "We will work with suppliers to address existing inventories and agreements."

Tovar said the retailer is still working through the details with suppliers.

The two latest defections bring to four the number of "partners" who have distanced themselves from the Savannah tourist icon since last week's disclosure that she used the "N" word years ago.

The Food Network announced it was dropping her food shows and Smithfield Foods earlier dropped Deen as a spokeswoman. QVC family-shopping network is reviewing their relationship with her as the controversy deepens.

At the same time, Deen's representatives released letters of support from nine companies that do business with the chef and promised to continue.

Wednesday morning, Deen told viewers of NBC's "Today" show she has never used the "N" word other than the one time 30 years ago that she has acknowledged in a deposition in a federal lawsuit.

"No. No, I'm not," she replied, adding that she denied having any racist tendencies.

She also had a challenge for her critics.

"If there is anyone out there who never said something they wished they could take back," she said, "please pick up that stone and throw it so hard at my head that it kills me. I want to meet you."

Deen appeared on the NBC morning show after canceling a scheduled appearance last Friday, saying she was overwhelmed with the situation she faced.

That followed media reports that Deen, a celebrity chef and Savannah tourist icon, testified under oath in a deposition in a discrimination case filed against her and her brother Earl W. "Bubba" Hiers that she used the "N" word "a very long time ago" following a bank robbery.

In the suit, Lisa Jackson, former general manager for Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House Inc. on Whitemarsh Island, which is operated by Deen's brother contends Jackson was the victim of sexual harassment and a persistent pattern of racial discrimination during her five years there.

On Friday, Deen posted two apologies on YouTube and begged for forgiveness.

On Tuesday, Deen's sons, Bobby and Jamie, defended her during an appearance on CNN's "New Day."

Deen, who initially appeared more at ease than during Friday's videos, told Laurer the main reason she was on the show was "because I want people to know who I am. … I'm so distressed that people I've never heard of who are all of a sudden experts on who I am."

She said she failed to appear earlier because "I was just overwhelmed. I was in a state of shock," adding she remains "somewhat" in that condition.

"There's been some very, very hurtful lies are being told about me," she said. And "their words are being given weight."

"I believe that every creature in this earth, every one of God's creatures, was created equal," she said.

She then recounted how her father would tolerate something such as bad grades or breaking curfews but told her that if he ever heard that she had behaved as if she were better than someone else or acted unkindly, "your butt belongs to me."

"That's the way I was raised, and that's the way I live my life," she said.

When Lauer questioned her about how someone could use the word that is most offensive to blacks and not be considered a racist, Deen replied, "It was a world ago. It was 30 years ago."

She said use of the word followed a bank robbery by a customer who put a gun to her head and was someone for whom she had gone "out on a limb for him and gotten him a loan." She said the bandit's hands were shaking because he feared she would recognize him.

Addressing her admission in reply to questioning in the deposition, Deen told Lauer, "I answered that question truthfully" - adding she never considered lying under oath and avoiding the answer in her deposition. "It's just not a part of what we are."

She told Lauer the only people she did not like and was prejudiced against were "thieves and liars."

She said it was distressing for her to go into her kitchens and hear the way young people talk to each other. "It makes my skin crawl."

When Lauer pressed her on whether her appearance was prompted by financial hits to her business stemming from her comments, Deen said she was grateful that most of her sponsors were sticking with her.

"I'm fortunate that so many of my partners who know me have not dropped me," she said. "QVC (home shopping network) has not dropped me."

And she said it would be a mistake to ignore her supporters in the social media and at the flagship restaurant, The Lady & Sons on Congress Street.